She was here to honor another target of an assassin, one who lived. Gabrielle Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman who was shot in 2011 at point-blank range and nearly killed by a lone gunman, but recovered and now devotes herself to pressing for measures to prevent gun violence.

For that, Kennedy bestowed on Giffords the Profile in Courage Award in a small ceremony on Sunday afternoon at the library. The award is given annually to someone who demonstrates the kind of courage that President John F. Kennedy highlighted in his book "Profiles in Courage," which praised eight senators who risked their careers by taking principled stands on unpopular positions.

"No one should have to lose a husband, a wife, a father, a child to senseless murder," Caroline Kennedy said in presenting the award to Giffords. "But as our honoree has shown, out of that pain and tragedy, we must find the strength to carry on, to give meaning to our lives, and to build a more just and peaceful world."

They were perhaps the most personal words Kennedy has ever spoken publicly about the gunfire that took the life of her father, in 1963, and that of her uncle, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, in 1968. Nov. 22 will be the 50th anniversary of her father's death.

"Gabrielle Giffords has turned a personal nightmare into a movement for political change," Kennedy said. "Her work is saving lives and sparing countless families from the pain and loss caused by gun violence."

Giffords, wearing a sleeveless, floor-length red gown, gingerly climbed the few steps to the podium with the aid of her husband, Mark Kelly, the former astronaut, who wore a tuxedo. A formal 500-person fundraising gala for the library followed the more intimate award ceremony, attended by about 50 people.

Giffords and Kennedy, who wore a slim royal blue dress, embraced as Kennedy handed her the award, a sterling silver lantern, which symbolizes a beacon of hope. The lantern was designed by Edwin Schlossberg, Kennedy's husband, and made by Tiffany & Co.